Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin Roast with Marinated Tomatoes and Scallion and Marinated Oven Roasted Potatoes
Well That title sure is a mouth full! And oyyyy, the confessions I have for you! Let me narrate that along the way. To start, I'd planned to slice open the pork loin roast, unrolling it, roulade style. I had planned to stuff it with marinated mozzarella, onion and chive cream cheese, scallions and herbs. I was going to tie it together, bracciole style, and roast it over baby Yukon Gold potatoes, whole. I had also planned to marinate thin slices of baby tomato medley and scallions (keeping the scallion theme). Only part of that actually happened: the marinated tomatoes and scallions and the roast stuffing.
Before I start my confessional, let's get to the recipe for the pork loin roast and stuffing.
Ingredients
6 tablespoons cream cheese (I had chive and onion)
1 log marinated mozzarella
1 rounded tablespoon dry Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons finely grated garlic
1/4 cup scallion whites and greens, sliced on a bias
2 teaspoons dried or fresh oregano
1 cup Greek Vinaigrette
1 pork loin roast (about 1.5 pounds)
*bacon
Prep the scallions, garlic and cheeses. Set aside.
On a separate cutting board or plastic cutting board, dry off the pork loin roast. Using a very sharp chef's knife or paring knife, roulade* slice the roast. The concept is to begin a small slice down across the top side of the roast (whichever top side is comfortable for you) and slice and continue slicing and unrolling the roast like an unrolling sleeping bag. Once sliced open, cover with plastic wrap and flatten, using whatever utensil you have, to flatten out the meat.
Well, here is where my lesson begin-eth. I had planned to start prepping at 4:30PM and cooking by 5:00PM, eating at six. I was a bit disgruntled by national events of the day and spent time - far too much time - trying to learn how to be useful and battle evildoers and I ended up wasting four hours! I started at 8:30pm, then, roulade slicing the pork loin roast and I tore both ends of it. I fretted about it and was upset. You see, I try to make everything look perfect as possible for you, my gentle, awesome readers, and I failed in quite an epic way. Ugg!!!
I went ahead and seasoned the opened roast with salt and pepper on both sides, then added the six tablespoons cream cheese, some scallions, the mozzarella, and more scallions, the garlic and half of the dried Italian seasoning and the fresh oregano.
Oh! I forgot! I added some of the Greek vinaigrette to the roast prior to adding the cream cheese!!!
Scallions atop the cream cheese.
Now......
Confessional Part Two: As you can see, I really stuffed that little pork roast. And when I tried to roll it up like a bracciole, or like a sleeping bag, the scallions and cheese fell out of the tears. I then had a brilliant idea! Bacon! 🥓🥓🥓🥓
Momentary interruption.....Preheat the oven to 450-degrees.
The problem with bacon -- as if there is any problem with bacon -- was that the main idea behind this whole meal was trying to make a fairly healthy dish. Keep in mind, the cream cheese was "light" and the mozzarella was "low fat" or "skim". Bacon tossed that concept out of the kitchen!
I lay out bacon strips, thin side, thicker side, in such a pattern where the roast could fit thoroughly.
Problem number three: The bacon I had purchased a couple of days ago was short. Most bacon, when left to warm to room temperature stretches. Not this package. Short and firm. I had to break out my box of toothpicks and before long, my poor torn up once beautiful pork loin roast looked like a pork-u-pine roast with toothpicks sticking out all over. I was so embarrassed. As I mentioned above, I just want everything to look as perfect for my readers as possible This was not going to be the case, and I needed to suck it up, confess what I had done and why I tried to wrap my roast in bacon, and just carry on. I did just that last night on my blog's FB page, and my blog's Instagram page, in case you want to read it, however, I plan to wrap up the lesson in just a little bit.
The roast wrapped in bacon with toothpicks holding it together and looking like a porkupine. Misspelling intended. I'd poured some of the Greek vinaigrette across the top, letting it get into the groves of the bacon and sprinkled the remaining dry Italian seasoning atop that.
Prior to adding the roast to a baking pan lined with foil and drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and vinaigrette, salt and pepper, I halved a pound of baby Yukon gold potatoes and lay them in the pan, cut side down. I placed the roast into the oven (remember, set at 450-degrees). I wanted the bacon to begin rendering its fat and shrink tokeep the roast from falling completely apart. I roasted it for twelve minutes, then, I reduced the heat to 350-degrees for 45 minutes.
The bacon rendered and shrank, some cheese oozed out, which I had expected, and which would flavor the potatoes drenched in vinaigrette and bacon fat. And again, I cringed: So much for a healthy meal!
Checklist: Roast, done! ✔
Potatoes done! ✔
Now to the simple salad!
On a cutting board not contaminated by meat protein, I used a comfortable but sharp culinary knife to slice the tomatoes (I had a baby tomato medley of Romas, Heirloom, cherry and grape, and various colors). I sliced the scallions on an extreme bias, because, fancy and pretty, and placed them all in a bowl. I then added pepper and some of the Greek vinaigrette and let them marinate overnight. They marinated so long because I had started four hours later than I had planned and the roast did not finish until about after 9:45PM and I was not going to eat that late!
My pretty, simple, flavorful salad.
This evening, at an appropriate time for dinner, I sliced the roast after having reheated it in the oven at 300-degrees for thirty minutes. Mind you, I had removed the roast and potatoes from the baking pan and did not add any of the renderings to a high-sided skillet I'd used this evening.
The roast turned out pretty darn fantastic, I must say, the potatoes crisped up this second round, and the simple salad was so flavorful I ate the whole salad!
I garnished the small plate with Celtic Sea Salt and fresh oregano from my patio garden. I used a small plate because, as I mentioned in my two previous blog posts, I am trying to take some pounds off. While the bacon threw off the healthy part of this dish, portion control just may have saved the day!
A side view. The dollop of cream cheese had fallen out of the stuffing from that slice on the plate. In the next photo, you will see the slices of the roast, stuffing and all!
May not be the prettiest, but I have to say the bacon gave it an incredibly crispy crunch and additional texture and taste explosion.
In my state of feeling completely inadequate and frustrated by my own lack of self monitoring (time), I was quite reluctant to post the roast recipe, particularly. I saw things from a different perspective, however, and realized, I had made the best of a sloppy situation. The final lesson is this: In both life and in the kitchen, professionally or cooking for your family and loved ones, mistakes happen. We mess up. It's part of life. We learn from the mistakes, as I tried to compensate for my sloppy mistakes. I had originally thought: If I had just started on time, I would have done a vastly better job and not have torn the ends of the roast. Maybe that is true, but maybe not. It is how we adjust to our mistakes, let them be known, if need be, and not beat ones-self up over it, that is important. Even the pros make mistakes! Forgive yourself and carry on.
Here endeth the lesson.*
As always, Thank You, my awesome readers, for your time and consideration! I hope you enjoy the recipes from this post and let me know if you try them and what you think! Make them your own! Make your own mistakes that lead to great successes! The big thing, Do Not Be Afraid To Make Mistakes. Now, go cook for someone you love!
~Martin
In-House Cook
*Thanks to Chef Paul and Chef Ricky for their vocabulary lessons!
*"Here endeth the lesson" I took from Buffy TVS, Season 7. My all-time favorite show!!!
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